by Fred Espenak, GSFC Planetary Systems Laboratory

Solar Eclipses: 1981 - 1990

Fred Espenak

A concise summary of all solar eclipses from
1981 through 1990
is presented in the table below.
The first column gives the Calendar Date of the instant on greatest eclipse.
The second column TD of Greatest Eclipse is the Terrestrial Dynamical Time when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to Earth's center.
The third column lists the Eclipse Type which is either Total, Annular, Hybrid[2] or Partial.

Eclipses recur over the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 18 years 11 days.
Each eclipse belongs to the Saros Series shown in column 4.
The Eclipse Magnitude[3] gives the fraction of the Sun's diameter obscured at the instant of greatest eclipse (column 5).
For total and annular eclipses the Central Duration[4] gives the length of the eclipse as seen from the central line at greatest eclipse (column 6).
Finally, the Geographic Region of Eclipse Visibility[5] provides a brief description of where each eclipse will be seen.
Countries and regions within the path of total or annular eclipses are listed inside [ ] brackets.

Several fields in the summary table provide links to additional information and graphics for each eclipse.
A map for an eclipse may be seen by clicking on the Calendar Date.
The orthographic projection map of Earth shows the region of visibility for the eclipse.
The path of the Moon's penumbral shadow (cyan and magenta) covers the region of partial eclipse.
The track of the umbral or antumbral shadow (blue/red) defines the path of total or annular eclipse.
These maps are described in greater detail in the Key to Solar Eclipse Maps.
Each map is stored as a GIF of approximately 60 kilobytes.

The Eclipse Type link opens a new window with the central eclipse path plotted on an interactive Google Map.
The northern and southern limits of the eclipse path are blue while the central line red.
The yellow lines crossing the path indicate the position of maximum eclipse at 10-minute intervals.
You can zoom into the map and turn the satellite view on or off.
When you click on a position, the eclipse circumstances and times at that location are calculated and displayed.

All eclipses belonging to a particular Saros Series are listed in a table linked through the Saros number.
Tables of geographic coordinates for the paths of all central eclipses (Total, Annular or Hybrid) are accessed by through the Central Duration.
The tables include the northern and southern limits of the path as well as the central line.

[1] Greatest
Eclipse is the instant when the distance between the Moon's
shadow axis and Earth's center reaches a minimum.

[2] Hybrid eclipses are
also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is
both total and annular along different sections of its umbral
path.

[3] Eclipse magnitude is
the fraction of the Sun's diameter obscured by the Moon. For
annular eclipses, the eclipse magnitude is always less than 1. For
total eclipses, the eclipse magnitude is always greater than or
equal to 1. For both annular and total eclipses, the value listed
is actually the ratio of diameters between the Moon and the
Sun.

[4] Central Duration is the
duration of a total or annular eclipse at Greatest Eclipse.
Greatest Eclipse is the instant when the axis of the Moon's
shadow passes closest to Earth's center.

[5] Geographic Region of
Eclipse Visibility is the portion of Earth's surface where a
partial eclipse can be seen. The central path of a total or annular
eclipse covers a much smaller region of Earth and is described in
brackets [].

Decade Tables of Solar Eclipses

Each link in the following table displays a page containing 10 years of eclipses.
Every eclipse has links of global maps, interactive Google maps, animations, path coordinate tables, and saros tables.

Twenty Year Solar Eclipse Path Tables (w/Google Maps)

Each of the following links displays a table containing 20 years of total, annular and hybrid eclipses.
Each eclipse offers links to a global map, shadow animation, interactive Google map, path coordinates table, and saros table.

Maps of Solar Eclipse Paths

The World Atlas of Solar Eclipse Paths features maps showing the paths of all total, annular and hybrid eclipses.
Each map in the atlas covers a 20-year period.
The atlas spans five millennia from -1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE).